The hourly rate that hits your income goal.
Estimate only. Tax rates and benefit costs vary by state and employer.
We add your target income, business expenses and self-employment tax for the gross you must bill, then divide by your realistic billable hours to find the required rate.
Price your team with our free hiring-cost tools.
New freelancers take their old salary, divide by 2,080 hours, and quote that — then go broke. The math is brutal: you don’t bill 40 hours a week (closer to 25 after sales, admin and gaps), you cover your own self-employment tax and expenses, and you have no paid time off. This calculator works backward from the income you actually want to the rate that delivers it.
The output is your floor, not your aspiration. Charging below it means subsidizing clients out of your own pocket. If the rate feels high, that’s the point — it reflects the true cost of self-employment that a salary quietly hides.
Work backward from target income plus expenses and SE tax, over realistic billable hours.
It covers self-employment tax, expenses, no PTO and non-billable time.
Often 20–30 a week, not 40, after sales and admin.
No — it's an estimate.